Fluid dynamic studies for a simulated Melton Valley Storage Tank slurry

The Melton Valley Storage Tanks (MVSTs), are used for the collection and storage of remote-handled radioactive liquid wastes. These wastes, which were typically acidic when generated, were neutralized with the addition of sodium hydroxide to protect the storage tanks from corrosion, but this caused the transuranic and heavy metals to precipitate. These wastes will eventually need to be removed from the tanks for ultimate disposal. The objective of the research activities discussed in this report is to support the design of a pipeline transport system between the MVSTs and a treatment facility. Since the wastes in the MVSTs are highly radioactive, a surrogate slurry was developed for this study. Rheological properties of the simulated slurry were determined in a test loop in which the slurry was circulated through three pipeline viscometers of different diameters. Pressure drop data at varying flow rates were used to obtain shear stress and shear rate data. The data were analyzed, and the slurry rheological properties were analyzed by the Power Law model and the Bingham plastic model. The plastic viscosity and yield stress data obtained from the rheological tests were used as inputs for a piping design software package, and the pressure drops predicted by the software compared well with the pressure drop data obtained from the test loop. The minimum transport velocity was determine for the slurry by adding known nominal sizes of glass spheres to the slurry. However, it was shown that the surrogate slurry exhibited hindered settling, which may substantially decrease the minimum transport velocity. Therefore, it may be desired to perform additional tests with a surrogate with a lower concentration of suspended solids to determine the minimum transport velocity